The Last Chance Ranch by Ruth Wind, Barbara Samuel Read Free Book Online

so she walked. Sometimes she didn’t feel like even walking, but she did it anyway. Over a long, long time, her body had grown lean and ropy, like the body of an antelope, and she moved with a loose freedom she’d never known. Running made her strong.
    She and Merlin made their circle and returned to the main buildings just as the sun came over the horizon. At the barn, she slowed to a walk to let her body cool down, feeling a pleasant tingle in her limbs, as if her blood were seltzer. Next to her, Merlin gave a little dancing leap and licked her fingers. She patted his head. “Good dog.”
    When she came into the yard near the house, she saw Ramón standing on the porch. He wore jeans and well-used riding boots, a black jean jacket and a flannel shirt. Ready for a day in the yard, she thought calmly. But it was only attempted calm. She couldn’t catch a glimpse of him without feeling a small, electric charge at the sensual promise of that face, that mouth, those hands. To hide her discomfort, she tugged the fat band out of her hair and shook her hair loose. “Good morning,” she said.
    “Did you have a good run?”
    “Yes.” She smiled. “Always.”
    He didn’t say anything more, but Tanya could sense there was something on his mind. At last he said, “There is going to be a harvest dance here. I wonder if you would help me plan it.”
    Tanya gaped. “A dance?”
    “Yes. The boys can ask girls from school. We’ll clear the dining room and let one of the kids play DJ. Serve food.” He smiled. “You know. A dance.”
    For one small moment, Tanya looked at him, remembering the reception at which she had danced with him so long ago. Remembered the feeling of his strong, lean arms around her, the press of his flat stomach against her swelling one. How odd, she thought now, that the child in her at that moment had gone to him for safekeeping. “I don’t know a lot about that kind of thing,” she said at last. “Next to nothing. I got married pretty young.”
    “I know.” He cocked his head in a purely Latin gesture, lifting one shoulder at the same time. “We can learn together.”
    It would be churlish to refuse. He’d been nothing but kind to her. “All right.”
    His smile—white and fast in his dark face—flashed suddenly. It struck her as forcefully as always, right in the knees. A tingling that had nothing to do with her run crept through private parts of her body. “Good.” He shifted to let her pass on the steps. “Be ready about 2:00 and we can go into town for some books.”
    “Town?” she echoed. She’d been very, very careful to avoid his company. A cozy little ride into town didn’t seem exactly the best idea. “I—”
    “You haven’t been to the library yet. You’ll like it.” His gaze was steady, fathomless. Somehow Tanya knew that he sensed all her objections and silenced them. “See you at 2:00.”
    There was nothing to say to that. Tanya gave him a half smile of capitulation. “Okay.”
    He gave her a wink and headed toward the barns. Into the quiet air rang his jaunty, tuneful whistle, and Tanya had to smile. He was the most relentlessly good-natured man she’d ever met. In ten days, she’d never heard him raise his voice or snap at a child, or get annoyed with a task. Relentlessly good-natured.
    But as she watched him walk away, Tanya had to admit it was not his nature upon which she feasted her eyes. He had a rear end like a quarterback, taut and high and round.
    “You gonna stand there all mornin’ watching his behind,” Desmary said in a droll tone from the back door, “or you gonna come help me cook sometime today?”
    Tanya gave a quick laugh and turned around, aware her color was high. The old woman winked. “I’m still inclined to admire it myself.” She gave a quick flick of her head toward the interior of the house. “Go get your shower. I’m all right for a little while.”
    “Thanks.”

Chapter Four
    Dear Antonio,
    One of the last warm days of